She thought, ‘Last night when I woke up, Mr. Mysterious had been lying beside me. But I remember that the door of the bedroom was locked when I was sleeping. Did he really climb the wall and come into my room through the window?’
She was both shocked and helpless.
Estelle, accustomed to Mr. Mysterious appearing unexpectedly behind her during their stays at the Grand Hotel in Hadale City, didn’t find it unusual to see him in her room the previous night.
Observing Estelle’s blushing face, Aurora reassured her by gently patting her hand and offering a warm smile. “Don’t be so shy. I’m not that conservative. You have the freedom to make your own choices, and I support you wholeheartedly.”
“Mom. We didn’t…”
“I just want to remind you that you’ve just given birth to Yvonne, and you’re still weak. It’s not good for your health if you get pregnant again in such a condition. So…”
Aurora then whispered to her, “Remember to take contraceptive precautions.”
‘Sir, you were exposed.’
‘What?’
‘Last night, my mother saw you when you climbed the wall to enter our house.’
‘I know that.’
‘Do you really know about it?!’ she exclaimed in surprise.
‘Yes. Your mother thought I was a thief and wanted to call someone over to catch me.’
‘Did she see your face? What did you say to her?’
‘She didn’t see my face. I said to her, “Auntie, I’m here to see Estelle.” Then she asked me to go upstairs and told me to be careful.’
Seeing the message, Estelle was speechless.
She didn’t expect that Mr. Mysterious and Aurora would meet in such a circumstance.
‘You even talked to her? Weren’t you afraid that she would drive you out?’
‘She wouldn’t. She has a good temper.’
‘You know my mother well?’
‘I have told you I know everything about you very well.’
‘You even remember the order of the paintings hung on my home’s wall, which surprises me.’ Estelle replied to him.
‘Is it difficult to remember that?’
‘Sir, you are really a master of humblebrag.’
‘I’m humble but never brag.’
Estelle couldn’t help smiling. When she was about to text Mr. Mysterious again, he called her.
On the other end of the phone, Mr. Mysterious said seriously, “Estelle, I was not bragging. I know all about you very well.”
Estelle was amused by his serious tone and said with a chuckle, “I see. I was just joking. Don’t take it seriously. But to be honest, you are omnipotent in my heart and have many strengths worthy of humblebragging.”
“I’m not as invincible as your think. I also have my Achilles’ heel,” Mr. Mysterious said.
“Your Achilles’ heel?” Estelle asked.
“Don’t you know it?”
“No. What’s it?”
Mr. Mysterious then slowly whispered in a husky voice, “My Achilles’ heel… is you.”
****
After hanging up the phone, Cristofer stared at the black screen when Ron called him.
“Mr. Hans, Mr. Lopez called me and asked me to send you a message. He said…”
“What did he say?”
“Mr. Lopez still wishes for you to reconsider his proposal and make a rational decision, free from emotional attachments. He has paved the way for you, offering to transfer all his properties to you and propel you towards greater success. Your dream is to elevate your company to the ranks of the top global enterprises, and he believes he is the only one capable of helping you realize that dream.”
Cristofer closed his eyes wearily. “Anything else?”
“He also said…” Ron hesitated.
“Say it.”
“He said he can’t stand to see you make the wrong decision and abandon your bright future for a woman.”
“What does he want to do?” Cristofer sat up abruptly and asked with his eyes full of coldness.
“I don’t know. That’s all that he said,” Ron said. “Mr. Hans, I’ve arranged for some people to protect Miss Hudson secretly.”
With a serious look on his face, Cristofer shook his head and said, “If he wants to hurt Estelle, no one can stop him.”
Hearing this, Ron was both shocked and panicked. “Then what should we do now?” he asked.
Cristofer lowered his head and said in a deep voice, “I’ll protect Estelle in person. Uncle Nelson just wants me to be his successor and won’t hurt me. As long as I’m with Estelle, he won’t act recklessly.”
“But Mr. Hans, are you really going to guard Miss Hudson without sleeping every night in the future? You are human, and you need sleep…”
Cristofer sighed and interrupted him, “After Estelle and I finish dealing with everything, we will leave here and never come back. We’ll live abroad with new identities. And Cristofer and Estelle will disappear from this world. We won’t have to live such a life full of worry and fear at that time anymore.”
After hesitating for a long time, Ron suggested, “Mr. Hans, you don’t have to make a decision in such a hurry. You can pretend to accept Mr. Lopez’s proposal and break up with Miss Hudson first. After all, Mr. Lopez is old and can’t live alone. After he dies, you can resume your relationship with Miss Hudson…”
Cristofer quickly refused his proposal. “I have hurt Estelle once. I can’t hurt her for a second time. Even if I break up with her for her safety… No, I can’t do that. I won’t do anything to break her heart from now on.”
****
In the Hudson’s House, Estelle was busy working.
Due to York’s incompetency, the company was in a hell of a mess, and the situation was worse than she had thought.
In addition to the gem project that caused the cash flow problem, York had also taken part in many troublesome and unprofitable projects.
He knew nothing about the company’s situation and was unfamiliar with the business process.
Normally, after obtaining the gemstones, it would take at least a month to design jewelry that would highlight the unique characteristics of the gems and transform them into finished products. However, York had stipulated in the contracts that the entire project had to be completed within a week.
Consequently, employees at the company were forced to work overtime every day, leading to mounting grievances among the staff. Numerous talented employees had even chosen to resign due to unfavorable work conditions.
To make matters worse, Estelle was now tasked with cleaning up the aftermath as swiftly as possible. The delivery deadline was rapidly approaching, yet the jewelry designs had not been finalized.
It became increasingly evident that the delivery would inevitably be delayed.
The delay in delivery would result in a breach of the contract, imposing hefty contractual penalties and causing a substantial financial loss for Estelle.
After carefully examining the company’s financial records from the past six years, Estelle discovered that most of the loss-making projects were due to delivery delays. Determined to mitigate the potential losses, she dedicated the entire afternoon to analyzing all the ongoing projects, seeking ways to minimize the impact.